1999:
Actor and Disney Legend Dick Van Dyke plays the Deagan Organ Chimes (a
novelty musical instrument) with the Dapper Dans during a special
barbershop performance at the Carnation Plaza Gardens Stage in
Disneyland. The performance is part of a ceremony naming Disneyland's Main Street U.S.A. an
Honorary Chapter of the Barbershop Society, with all the Dapper Dans, past and present, as founding members.
The crime thriller Summer of Sam is released by Touchstone Pictures. Set during the summer of 1977, a killer known as the Son of Sam keeps all of New York City on edge with a series of brutal
murders. Directed and co-produced by Spike Lee, it stars John Leguizamo, Adrien Brody, Mira Sorvino,
and Jennifer Esposito.
1967:
Disneyland's Rocket Jets, Flight to the Moon, Peoplemover, the General Electric
Carousel of Progress, and the Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant all open in
the park's updated Tomorrowland. The Rocket Jets (a 12 two-person spinning rocket attraction) sits above
the PeopleMover in the Tomorrowland plaza area. Flight to the Moon is the refurbished Rocket to the Moon (which opened with the park in 1955). The Peoplemover, a family friendly attraction, offers a leisurely ride over Tomorrowland. Due to its success at the 1964-65 World's Fair, General Electric continues its sponsorship of the Carousel of Progress. Sponsored by Coca-Cola, the Tomorrowland Terrace features a stage for live entertainment.
1972:
Although it has been up and running since June 5, Walt Disney
World's If You Had Wings attraction is formally unveiled during a dedication
ceremony in Tomorrowland. Sponsored by Eastern Airlines (at this time the official airline of the Disney
resort) it will be the last Omnimover ride Disney will build for over ten years. The ride features such travel
destinations as Mexico, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas and New Orleans.
2005:
"Hollywood Bowl Celebrates 50 Years of Disneyland" is performed for
the first of 3 nights at the famous California concert venue by the
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.
Disney announces that they have given 20,000 free tickets to poor families
and the disabled to visit Hong Kong Disneyland on the last 2 days of
August (before the new park officially opens to the public September 12).
1935:
Artist John Lounsbery, originally from Ohio, is hired by the
Disney Studio. As his starting salary is only twelve dollars a week, he must take
a second job at night in store decorations at Sears. He will go on to become one of
Walt's famous "Nine Old Men" and work at Walt Disney Productions until 1976.
1941:
Variety runs a full-page ad by Walt Disney accusing the leaders of the
current animators' strike to be employing "Communistic agitation."
1958:
Maynard Smith - artist, storyteller, and... the greatest Disneyland
Cast Member of all time - is born in California. Starting at Disneyland in
1993, he has been part of many attractions over the years. That included wearing a lab
coat ushering guests into Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, navigating wild waters as a
Jungle Cruise skipper with a toy alligator affixed to his shoulder, and even appearing as
his “evil twin” in the Haunted Mansion. Considered by many guests as the unofficial host of The Tiki Room, Smith retired in 2022.
1959:
Disney files a lawsuit against ABC. The network had advised Disney that
they would not televise Zorro or Mickey Mouse Club next season. ABC also
informs Disney that these TV shows cannot be offered to other networks.
Disney asks the court to invalidate the contracts between the two
companies under provisions of the federal anti-trust laws.
1977:
Actress-singer Jennifer McGill, a member of the Disney Channel's The All
New Mickey Mouse Club, is born in Denison, Texas. She also lent her voice
to the Disney acapella group American VYBE.
Film, television and video game composer John Paesano is born in Birmingham, Michigan. He is known for the music used in the Marvel television series The Defenders and Daredevil. He also composed for the 2018 video game Spider-Man.
1985:
Actress-singer Ashley Tisdale is born in Monmouth, New Jersey. Her Disney credits include the trio of High School Musical films as Sharpay Evans, the Disney Channel series The Suite Life of Zack and Cody as Maddie, the animated Kim Possible as Camille, the animated Phineas and Ferb as Candace, and the Disney/Pixar animated feature A Bug's Life as Blueberry Scout. She also co-produced the 2014 Disney Channel film Cloud 9.
1986:
Disney's animated film The Great Mouse Detective (based on the children's book series by Eve Titus, Basil of Baker Street) is released in U.S. theaters. Basil, a brilliant mouse detective, embarks on the greatest case of his career when London's master toymaker is kidnapped.
The score is written by composer Henry Mancini who also collaborated on two of the three featured songs with lyricists Larry Grossman and Ellen Fitzhugh. The film's voice cast include Barrie Ingham, Val Bettin, Vincent Price, Candy Candido, Alan Young, Wayne Allwine, Laurie Main, Tony Anselmo, Eve Brenner, and singer Melissa Manchester. Actor Basil Rathbone voices Sherlock Holmes, the famous human detective who lives above Basil the mouse. Although Rathbone had passed in 1967, a short audio clip taken from one of his radio shows has been used. The film has been directed by John Musker, Ron Clements, Dave Michener, and Burny Mattinson (in their feature directorial debuts). Musker and Clements will go on to direct such blockbusters as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin,
Hercules, and Treasure Planet.
Actress/singer Lindsay Lohan is born in New York City. Her Disney credits include the 1998
The Parent Trap, the 2003 remake of Freaky Friday, the 2004 Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and the
2005 Herbie: Fully Loaded. She can also be heard on the soundtrack for The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement singing the Diane Warren-penned song "I Decide".
1993:
Aladdin's Oasis opens in Disneyland's Adventureland. An outdoor restaurant, guests are
entertained by characters from Disney's animated feature Aladdin.
Disney re-releases its 1939 animated classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to theaters. The film has been painstakingly restored by Eastman Kodak's Cinesite division during an 18 week
overhaul in their Los Angeles facilities. (Cinesite is one of the largest full-service visual effects and post production
facilities in the world, providing services as diverse as digital effects, physical effects, model construction and unit photography, film scanning, laser recording and visual effects supervision.)
Disney's Hollywood Pictures releases Son in Law a comedy starring Pauly Shore,
Carla Gugino, Lane Smith, Cindy Pickett, Tiffani Thiessen and Brendan Fraser
(making a cameo as the same character he played in Encino Man). When a college coed,
Rebecca Warner, brings home to South Dakota her weird resident adviser, Crawl, for Thanksgiving, the traditional-
minded family is horrified, but slowly he is accepted by them as he helps each learn the value of his own individuality.
2004:
Disney's documentary film America's Heart and Soul is released. Documentary filmmaker Louis Schwartzberg embarks on a massive road trip through the United States to explore the nation's majestic landscape and learn more about the people who inhabit it. Along the way, he forms bonds with a disparate cross-section of Americans and emerges with a portrait of a rather diverse population. Despite the individuality of the people, though, they are united by common aspirations, and by their feelings for the country they call home.
"Raging Bull," the 6th episode of Phil of the Future premieres on Disney Channel.
1997:
AMC Theatres Pleasure Island 24 has a grand reopening in Florida.
Newly expanded from 10 screens to two dozen, the theatres also
host a fund-raiser for Give Kids the World.
In the early days of Disneyland,
Mr. Toad did not appear in Mr.
Toad's Wild Ride, nor did Peter
Pan or Snow White feature in
their own rides. The idea was
that guests would view the
attractions from the lead
character's point of view. Hardly
anyone understood this concept
so now each character makes
a brief appearance.
1964:
Walt Disney Pictures premieres The Moon-Spinners, starring Hayley Mills, Eli Wallach, and Peter McEnery. Based on a novel by Mary Stewart, an English woman and her young niece, Nikky,
stumble into the midst of intrigue while on vacation in Greece. The film will be generally released 6 days later.
2001:
The 38th Annual Cast Member Canoe Races are held at Disneyland. For the
first time in its history, the races (held on the Rivers of America) benefit a charity organization - Wonderful Outdoor
World, which exposes inner city children to the great outdoors.
Blowback, the fifth studio album by English rapper and producer Tricky, is released on Disney's Hollywood Records.
1947:
Writer, producer, comedian and actor Larry David (famously known for co-creating
and co-writing Seinfeld, and for starring as a semi-fictionalised version of himself in
Curb Your Enthusiasm) is born in Brooklyn, New York. David appeared as himself in a
May 2007 episode of Disney Channel's Hanna Montana.
1956:
The Rainbow Caverns Mine Train attraction begins operation in Disneyland’s new
Living Desert. (In 1960, the Mine Train attraction will be upgraded to become the Mine Train through
Nature’s Wonderland.)
JULY 2
JULY 2
THIS DAY MADE
IN THE
USA
JULY
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The Great Mouse Detective released
"When the worries and hubbub of the world bum you out, take a break and let your inner-child enjoy somethin' silly. Clean drinkin' water is good for a thirsty body and clean humor is good for a thirsty soul." -Maynard Smith
London's crime-fighting ace on his most baffling case!
2009:
Disneyland fires off its Holiday Fireworks Spectacular for the first of four nights.
| ||||
2010:
Captain EO returns to Epcot. It's been 16 years since the 3-D sci-fi movie featuring Michael Jackson
played at WDW, and today's ribbon-cutting ceremony includes cast members who were working at EO when it
closed back in 1994!
Today is World UFO Day
The Happiest Music on Earth
1914:
Frederick Fennell, an internationally recognized conductor and one of the primary
figures in promoting the wind ensemble as a performing group, is born in Cleveland, Ohio. In December 1971 he conducted the orchestra at Walt Disney World's very first Candlelight Processional.
July 02
The 26th animated feature in the official
canon, The Great Mouse Detective was
directed by Burny Mattinson, David
Michener, and the team of John Musker
and Ron Clements.
2016:
Coca‑Cola Store Orlando officially opens at Disney Springs. The building, modeled
after a 1920s bottling plant, features a rooftop terrace. The ground floor of the building contains the
merchandise area where visitors can buy apparel and handmade items created from recycled material.
2017:
DisneyQuest permanently closes at the end of this day at Walt Disney World. First
opening on June 19, 1998, as part of a major expansion of the Downtown Disney entertainment district (today
called Disney Springs), DisneyQuest was an indoor interactive theme park. The NBA Experience at Walt Disney World Resort will take its place.
1937:
Richard Lee Petty, nicknamed The King, a NASCAR driver who raced from 1958 to
1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series, is born in North
Carolina. The Richard Petty Driving Experience at Disney Speedway Orlando, was once located next to the
Magic Kingdom Parking lot at Walt Disney World. Petty also played himself in the 2008 film Swing Vote and voiced
The King in Disney/Pixar's Cars, Cars: The Video Game, Disney INFINITY, and Cars 3.
1960:
Screenwriter Terry Rossio is born in Kalamazoo, Michigan. His Disney writing credits include Aladdin (1992), Treasure Planet (2002), Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), National Treasure (2004), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), Pirates of the
Caribbean: At World's End (2007), National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007), Pirates of the Caribbean: On
Stranger Tides (2011), The Lone Ranger (2013), Jake and the Never Land Pirates (2015), Pirates of the
Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017), and Aladdin (2019).
1989:
Actor Ben Wright passes away at age 74 in Burbank, California. His Disney voice credits include One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) as songwriter Roger Radcliffe, The Jungle Book (1967) as Mowgli's wolf father Rama, and The Little Mermaid (1989) as Grimsby (his final role). Born in 1915 in London to an American father and an English mother, he settled in Hollywood in 1946. Wright achieved worldwide attention for his roles in The Sound of Music (1965), Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), and My Fair Lady (1964).
2015:
Disney's animated series Doc McStuffins kicks off season 3 with the episode
"Slip n' Slide".
2002:
The soundtrack to the 2001 comedy-drama The Royal Tenenbaums is re-released on Disney's Hollywood Records. The soundtrack (featuring a score by Mark Mothersbaugh) is re-released with three songs not found on the 2001 release.
1892:
Artist, sculptor, photographer, naturalist, and illustrator Maurice "Jake" Day is born in
Damariscotta, Maine. Joining the Walt Disney Studios in 1936, he started as an illustrator and layout artist for such shorts as Merbabies. It wasn't until the 1942 Bambi that he became best known as he helped considerably in the creation of the deer. Since Disney animators had never seen a live white-tail deer, it was Day who arranged with the Maine Department of Economic Development to have two four-month old orphaned fawns brought from Maine to be sketched by the studio artists. He was also responsible for drawing the scenic backgrounds for the film. (Disney wished to premiere Bambi in Augusta, Maine to recognize Day's considerable contributions to the film. However, due to possible protests from the strong hunting community within the state, officials voted against premiering the film in Maine.) After several years with Disney, Day moved back to Damariscotta, where he continued to create until his death in 1983.
2021:
Hong Kong Disneyland begins its 15th anniversary celebration.
Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), a documentary film about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, is released by Disney's Searchlight Pictures (and digitally via Hulu). The film examines the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, which was held at Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park) in Harlem and lasted for six weeks. Despite having a large attendance and performers such as Stevie Wonder, Mahalia Jackson, Nina Simone, The 5th Dimension, The Staple Singers, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Blinky Williams and Sly and the Family Stone, the festival was seen as obscure in pop culture, something that the filmmkaers investigate.
1975:
Actor James Robertson Justice, best remembered for playing pompous authority figures in comedies, passes away at age 68 in England. His three Disney roles were Little John in The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men, King Henry VIII in The Sword and the Rose, and Duke Campbell of Argyll in Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue (all of which were directed by Ken Annakin). Justice was originally cast as Mr. Dawes Jr. in Mary Poppins before Arthur Malet was chosen. Fans of the 1968 Chitty Chitty Bang Bang will remember Justice as Lord Scrumptious.
